Lower than the Angels

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

A major assessment of Christianity's encounters with questions of sex, gender and the family over the ages

The Bible observes that God made humanity 'for a while a little lower than the angels'. If humans are that close to angels, does the difference lie in human sexuality and what we do with it? In a single lifetime, Christianity or historically Christian societies have witnessed one of the most extraordinary about-turns in attitudes to sex and gender in human history, bringing liberation for some and fury and fear for others.

This book by Oxford's Emeritus Professor of the History of the Church seeks to calm fears and encourage understanding through telling a 3000-year-long tale of Christians encountering sex, gender and the family, with noises off from their sacred texts. It beckons us to pay attention to the sheer glorious complexity and contradictions in the history of Christianity, an epic of ordinary and extraordinary Christians trying to make sense of themselves and of humanity's deepest desires, fears and hopes.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780141990958
Published: September 2025

Number of pages: 688
Width: 129 mm
Height: 196 mm
Depth: 31 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd